Friday, October 31, 2008

This is specifically for kris. He had problems because i uploaded my albums via AAC Encoder on Itunes, which makes mp4 files i think. I didn't think this was a problem for anyone with Itunes... which if you are like kris... go download that shit for free, and then you won't have a problem. I just want to keep files small and sound quality high, and AAC encoding is the best way to do that. I will try to upload files via mp3 from now on, unless it makes the file too large... then I will go back to mp4. OKAY? okay. If anyone else is having the same issue as kris, then please let me know so i can repost other albums that you might want in mp3 format. Here are two that kris wanted.

Monday, October 27, 2008

While I enjoy all of Spoon's releases, I find myself coming back to Kill the Moonlight more than any other. It just has a spunk and sass that makes it the most accessible album in their repertoire. I think this is a band that could definitely use a little more edge in their sound nowadays. Their b-sides off of Gimme Fiction surprized the hell outta me. They were all rough and distorted and sounded nothing like the A-sides. I was all "WOOWWWIE!" I couldn't belive that they could sound like that... it was brilliant. While their polished sound works great for their minimalist rock style, a little edge could give these guys the push they need to make the best album of their careers. I guess that's why I favor this album so much. It has that little bit of edge that I crave from these guys. This album is a must have for any music lovers collection.

Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet makes some pretty chilled out electronic beats. This CD was my shit for about a year before I finally put it away for awhile. I have to skip around a little on this release but the songs that are good, are freaking amazingly good. For some reason, I always imagine a movie of someone riding in the backseat of a car across the country looking at the sun as it passes over trees, houses and power lines, while tracks like "Slow Jam" and "My Angel Rocks Back and Forth" play as a soundtrack in the background. Then some voiceover says some profound shit about the meaning of life. (I'll make that movie someday... haha) This is definitely some music to contemplate life to. It's jazzy, ambient, otherwordly style seperates it from the pack as one of the most original and emotional rides an electronic album can take you on. I wish he would stop remixing other people shit and get back to making records like this.

With a catalogue spanning over 3 decades, it's almost impossible to pick a favorite or definitive album for an artist like Bowie. The only thing I can really do here is just post the album that has some of my favorite songs on it. I personally think "5 years" may be his best song ever (from the album "Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust")... but that's a pretty large assertion that I'm not willing to make. However, this album definitely has the most consistently amazing songs throughout. "Changes", "Oh! You Pretty Things", "Life on Mars", and "Quicksand" all pretty much blow my mind. Like the Velvet Underground, Talking Heads and Brian Eno; Bowie was making awesome experimental art pop that was WELL before its time. Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

This band may be old news to some of you, but if you haven't heard Beach House... you are certainly missing out. I have to be in the right mood to really get into this music, but when the timing is right this stuff blows my mind. A little fun fact... my bff Andrew over at 413some is living with this girl Rebecca from San Fran... and she apparently went to high school with the guy from Beach House and is good friends with him still. (Apparently she has a little crush on him too... teeeheee!) Don't worry Rebecca... I'm sure he doesn't read this blog. (Just in case he does though....WHAT'S UP ALEX!? Hey... will you bone Rebecca?) I just thought it was cool cause one night I was all "Hey Andrew you know Beach House? They are great!" and Rebecca was all like "Oh i know that guy Alex pretty well." Then I found 5 dollars! Crazy ass story huh? My life is just a mile-a-minute adventure. *sigh* Both albums are pretty equal in terms of quality. I've been listening more to their self titled but, hey... that's just me.

Here is another cool release from Radiohead. I bought this shit waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day from a cool record store in Portsmouth New Hampshire. Unfortunately, back then, circa 2004 or so, it was an import for like 50 bucks. I thought it was an amazing find... and it was back then... but now it's available for like 10 bucks pretty much anywhere. Oh well... it's still pretty gosh darn good either way. There are a few must haves on this EP for any Radiohead fan...notably the live version of "FOG (again)"... which makes me cry my own tears. Seriously. *sniffle*

Monday, October 20, 2008

I wanted to post an album by Belle and Sebastian that I personally thought was overlooked by a lot of people. This is definitely one of them. After "Dear Catastrophe Waitress" I had almost given up hope on these guys making a good album again. Then I heard this and was all like... WHAAAAAA? This definitely deserves "rebound record of the year" award or something. I was almost certain they were gonna end up being one of those bands that had a really good start then followed it by crap after crap. I know I will probably get a lot of shit for saying that because Belle and Sebastian are one of those bands where everyone has their own personal favorite and will die defending it... but this album, for me personally, renewed my interest in a band that I thought was destined for mediocrity. Who the hell knows what they will do next... it's been what.. 2 years and there is no word on even them STARTING a new record. Eh, whatevs... enjoy these pop gems until then.

Eh, I was going to post Okkervil River's new album "The Stand-ins", but since I was relatively disappointed by it I won't waste your time. Plus, there are like 50 blogs that already posted it... and I want to be different. (Forgive me while indulge in a longwinded criticism of the band regarding their new album.) The main fault I have with Okkervil River is that they always try to make "concept" albums. And while most of the time this is a good thing, for them this can present a challenge with material. They almost always seem to be WAYYYY to literal with their relation to the concept on each album, making the feel of some songs more contrived than cohesive (I'm specifically referring to their newest album). For example OK Computer, while a concept album (arguably one of the best), had an ambiguity to its lyrics and a universality that transcended their exploration of their concept. Every song wasn't like "Robots bad, humans good." If it was it would've been ... well... like a Okkervil River album. Haha... wow... that sounded harsh. I'm hyper-critical today okay? That being said, this album is probably the best concept album a band like Okkervil River could make. Next would probably be "Black Sheep Boy" which I also enjoyed quite a bit. Don't be fooled by my criticism of the band in general, because they are definitely a good band, and this is definitely a good album. In fact it is DEFINITELY one of 2007's best. Definitely.... Someone get me a thesaurus. I guess the best way to describe the band is like a guilty pleasure. Sort of... like a Jason Statham movie. You know the movie has its flaws...the plot is weak, the dialogue can be corny... but for some reason you freakin enjoy the shit out of yourself. And like a Statham movie, they once and a while make a pretty awesome movie that is also intellectually viable... this is one of those instances.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

If I were to make a list of essential albums you must hear before you die, this would be high on the list. Some of the lyrics on this just break my little boy heart. *tear* The title song has the ability, no matter where I am, to make me look around in amazement that I exist at all... that I'm having a conversation and someone is understanding me... that out of all the shit that could have happened in the universe, I'm here, alive, in this exact moment in time. Pretty heavy stuff huh? It's funny because on first listen this album was not that impressive to me....but with time, reflection, and repeat listens, it ended up being one of my favorites. I think most people (myself previously included) overlook this album because of the crazy "I LOOOOVE YOU JESUS CHRIST" opening on the second song. Once you get he's kind of half joking, really using Jesus Christ as an exclamation. Like "I love you, Damnit!" things get a lot more interesting from there. You start to realize it's not a religious album, but a spiritual journey. A journey that ventures through the dreams of Magnum's head, revealing this sad, beautiful and horrific world that he has painted for us. It's a shame that Magnum abandoned music after this album. Like a musical J.D. Salinger, he gives us a few gems and vanishes to a life of obscurity.

Pixies rule my life. Quite possibly one of the best bands... ever. This album is still probably my favorite one. Steve Albini (producer for this album) just has a way with making a band sound exactly how they should. The drums on this have a sort of killing punch to them that the other pixies albums don't have (an attribute that caused Kurt Cobain to seek out Albini as a producer for In Utero). The Pixies just do it all for me. Frank Black can make you chuckle with his wacky lyrics, while at the same time delivering a heavy handed truth while you weren't looking... the guitars crunch and swell into larger than life choruses.... Kim and Franks voices harmonize in what most bands nowadays only can TRY to recreate.... the drums gallop along exploding into rocked out bliss... I dunno... I could seriously gush on for three pages about how important The Pixies are for modern indie rock music... or how they've literally influenced every GOOD band that has come about in the last 20 years of music.... the truth is without The Pixies, music as we know it would not be the same. I'm just glad I was able to catch them on their reunion tour before they disbanded again. Ahhhhhh... remember when music was so good it was exciting? Push play and lets reminisce.

Friday, October 17, 2008

This is probably one of the coolest singles Radiohead have released. It's funny that a band as good as them release B-sides that are sometimes just as good and sometimes better than the material they put on their albums. I personally was amazed by the b-sides on this and Knives Out... I couldn't understand why they didn't replace some of the so-so songs on Amnesiac (like "Hunting Bears", or the second version of "Morning Bell") with the AWESOME b-sides on this CD and the Knives Out Single. Oh well... Either way it's all good. Enjoy

These guys do power pop indie rock better than everyone. It's smart, it's upbeat... catchy... and most of all.. creative as hell. Like Brian Wilson, they can take a pop song and turn it into something that transcends genres and styles. While I like all of their albums (maybe not their newest so much), I think that Twin Cinema is probably the best thing they've done. This is the album where they really matured from more than just a poppy indie rock band into masters of their craft. I can listen to EVERY SINGLE track on this album front to back without getting bored or losing interest once. Even some of my favorite albums of all time can't boast that quality. Besides... A.C. Newman and Neko Case in the same band... what more could you ask for?

This note is regarding sound quality. Every CD that I upload I try to do at 320kbps. I will do this with everything that I personally own (not that I've downloaded from somewhere)... UNLESS it makes the file larger that 100MB. I say this because Mediafire (even though they are the best upload site) won't let you upload files over 100MB, so I am forced to "split up" the album. And unfortunately I have been noticing a trend of people downloading the first part of an album and not the second. I don't know why people do this, and it confuses the shit outta me. I will only upload an album at 320kbps that is over 100MB ...IF AND ONLY IF I feel that everyone would benefit from listening to that particular album at a higher quality. If i do break it up into parts I will make sure to note this (as I have done on every post in the past). Alright? SWEEEEEEET. Back to the tunes.

This is the first in a series of many. I own the whole Brainiac catalogue... which doesn't sound that great until you realize that almost every CD they have is out of print. It took me a while but I finally got them all. This one is the first album of theirs that I was able to find, mostly because this is the only one still in print. If you ask a Brainiac fan which is their best CD they either come up with this or Bonsai Superstar. I don't know which one I prefer really. This one can be a little bit abrasive at times because the singer Tim Taylor (RIP) does some pretty high pitch squealing in a few songs. Those songs actually tend to me my least favorite, although they are sometimes pretty fun to listen to. If you put this CD on for someone who doesn't know Brainiac, they will most likely go "What the fuck are we listening to?" Well, don't let that scare you, because like most bands that are a little abrasive at first (sonic youth, pixies, pavement) they end up being one of your favorite bands. Speaking of The Pixies... shortly before this CD they got singed to touch and go records and had Kim Deal produce an EP. I personally love that not everyone will like Brainiac. It's a great club to belong to and not everyone is welcome. Won't you join the club? This is a good place to start. More to come.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

This is Sufjan Steven's epic masterpiece. Despite being another one of those artists that is all "touched by the holy spirit" and whatnot, he is actually quite the talented song writer. He can be a little cheesy at times, but when he is on.. HE IS ON. I personally get annoyed with ridiculous and LONG song titles like the ones on this album... but hey the songs definitely make up for it. Also... don't be fooled by the large size of this album of 22 songs. A lot of them are very short interludes. I tend to listen to about 10 tracks on this album, which is really about how long an album should be before it gets boring anyway (if every song is good that is). I kind of hope he gives up writing about every state like he originally intended to do... because 1. He will die before he even gets one third of the states. 2. You can only write so many metaphores for geographical locations before I stab my brain through my ear holes. 3. The U.S.A. will probably assimilate Canada and Mexico and break them up into states before he finishes thus adding 30 more states to the mix. And seriously... 4. Who the fuck wants to hear an album about Alabama?!... I know I don't. I would almost prefer for him to go back to writing about Jesus again. At least biblical allusions are far more interesting.

P.S. this is an album that needs to be heard in 320kbps, hence the two parts. So for anyone who already owns this album... if you want a "high quality" version then peep this jam.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Here's another band worthy of an Old/New Album post. The first Ratatat album is the shit. It was one of my favorite electronic albums for a LONG freakin time. There is just a magic to it that they have yet to recreate. I don't really like 2nd album Classics very much. I felt like it was just a rehash of their first album, only weaker. Their newest album LP3 is interesting. It is the first time where they don't have their signature synth sounds in every song. LP3 is more of an experimental record for them, and a lot of people are giving them shit for it. I personally applaud them for at least trying to take a new direction. I think it works. It's a little bit more of a challenging listen, but rewarding nonetheless.

Alright. Seeing how people downloaded the other Weezer albums like crazy, I decided to post the rest of the stuff i have from them. (Besides "Make Believe"... god what a piece of crap) If you don't already have The Blue Album deluxe and Pinkerton, go download those from my earlier posts. This if for you people that already have those good albums and need a Weezer fix. Sure The Green Album was a little bit dissapointing after the long wait and the great single "Hash Pipe".... and sure Maladroit, while initially appealing, was a little bit inconsistent and crapped off towards the end... and sure (even though I refuse to post it) Make Believe was the worst record I've heard in a while... and SURE the Red Album isn't even close to good enough to make up for Make Believe... but hey, I still will always love Weezer... for some reason. At least with their new album "The Red Album", they show moments of intensity amongst their usual mediocrity. The Second song might be worth the time of downloading alone. It's definitely their "Bohemian Rhapsody". Anyways... here they be

I just wanted to let people know that the Deerhoof link is dead. This is why I don't post a ton of new releases. Right now my Mac is totally out of wack (hehe) and unfortunately the file for Deerhoof's album is on that. So for a little while i can only post things I've already uploaded to mediafire. So If you don't have Deerhoof, I will re-post it soon...maybe... I might get bored of the idea. I have a lot more things to post that will be much better than that album anyway. Now.... on to some new tunes.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

One more new release for the night. Oh wait, it's daytime now. Fuckin A..... ahhhh... oh well. Anyways, this album is the newest from crazy Japanese sounding Deerhoof. (Maybe because they are Japanese?) I was a fan of their last album Friend Opportunity, and even more of a fan of their earlier works like Milk Man. This one is good. It's just not AS good as other things they've done. I'm personally more a fan of their crazy abrasive heavy duty stuff with elements of power pop sprinkled in. This is just a little too mellow, and a little too Japanese. (Not that I can usually understand what she's saying) But to the average listener I'm sure this album is still pretty freakin sweet.

Hey, here is some more BRAND spankin new shit. Well... almost. I've listen to it a few times through, and let me just say that I only hope their next album is as good as this EP. Stars have a problem, like a lot of indie bands nowadays, of making albums of half really great material mixed in with half mediocre/bad material. Stars, if they trimmed the fat a bit, could make one of the best albums in recent years. Torquil Campbell (the male vocalist who shares the spotlight with the more talented Amy Milan) has a propensity for cheesy vocals/lyrics. It's pretty much a guarantee that there will be a few songs on every Stars release that aren't really that good, and even though this is no exception, the majority of the songs are great and they seem to be headed in a good direction for their next LP. And on the plus side, IT IS NEW, which is apparently all people care about nowadays. *sigh*

This is PROBABLY my favorite Built to Spill album. It comes from a time where Doug Martsch didn't overdub his voice on every song, which is especially refreshing. It gives it more of a live and unhinged/spontaneous feel. This album has a little bit more of a Pavement style production value to it, which is probably why I like this album the best. They have a great poppy/clean sound, but honestly, this rough edged recording served this style of music best. His lyrics go from quirky, witty and tongue-and-cheek silly to brilliant and melancholy. Keep It Like a Secret probably has the majority of my favorite songs from BTS, but production adds a lot to the feel of an album and this album has, by far, the most interesting production. If anyone is keeping count I only have a few more BTS albums to go. I'll probably post the rest all at once, but THIS ONE definitely deserves its own post. So, just to review MUST OWN BTS ALBUMS are- There's Nothing Wrong With Love, Keep It Like a Secret, and Perfect From Now On. Probably in that order....probably. I dunno, just go download them all... For anyone new they are all on this site, just go back to older posts.

SUPER SERIOUS DISCLAIMER

Please note that none of the music here is meant to be kept for longer than 24 hours. The music here is for PREVIEW purposes only. After that it should be either purchased or deleted. None of the links belong to me, however, I can and will remove them from this blog at the request of the artist and/or the record company. As far as I know, the music posted is from artists who don't mind sharing/previewing their music. If this is not the case, please email me or leave a message in the shout box if you wish to contatct me about any issue.